MH Interview: Chris Terrill

When filming with the Royal Marines Commandos both in training for nine months and on the front line in Afghanistan, Terrill became the first and only civilian and the oldest person (at 55) to pass the gruelling Commando tests. For this he was awarded an honorary green beret, which remains his proudest possession.

Terrill has represented Sussex at both rugby and athletics and was a bronze medallist in the British Universities Judo Championships. He has run 13 London marathons and has twice completed the 55-mile London to Brighton road race. A keen boxer, he trains at the Fitzroy Lodge Amateur Boxing Club in south London  the original club of World Champion David Haye.

Having just returned from filming a new documentary in the Himalayas  following the attempts of Commandos badly injured in Afghanistan to reach Everest base camp  Terrill is currently editing and preparing for his next big challenge: the New Forest Iron Man in 2010. The two-part series he filmed in Nepal, entitled Wartorn Warriors, will be shown on Sky 1 on December 22nd and 23rd at 9pm.

You're an excellent documentary-maker and all-round sportsman, but what are you really bad at?

"I'm bad at organisation, as my wife will tell you  but I guess what I'm really bad at is saying no. That's why I end up doing things like Commando training. As a sportsman I will always say yes to any challenge. I'll never duck out, which means I'll sometimes compete while carrying an injury  which is daft. Though this did become a very positive problem during Commando training because, obviously, when you're on the battlefield you can't hand in a sick note.

How many hours of sleep do you need a night?

While I was training with the Royal Marines I probably averaged about four hours a night. But that's all I need anyway; I don't like sleep  it's the most boring part of life. I know all the arguments about needing rest to repair the body, but I need to be up at the crack of dawn. Although, having said that, I've just returned from five weeks in the Himalayas and out there I slept like a baby. I was getting about 10 hours a night in the tent. It was a bit of a first for me.

If your body has a weakness, what is it?

I think now my obvious weakness is probably my calves. They've had a lot to bear over the last half century. Just before the Commando training I was a pretty committed long-distance runner, and that gives the calves a good old bashing  as any runner will know.

How many hours a week do you spend training?

Because I'm a film-maker I travel an awful lot, so it's difficult to get a routine going. Wherever I am, whether it be London or Afghanistan, I have my running shoes with me  and I try to run every day. If I'm near a gym I'll try to get to it, but I'm not really that fond of weights. I compete as often as I can in half marathons and triathlons  but my favourite training is boxing: as long as I'm in London, I box every Saturday.

Commando training lasted 32 weeks  it's the longest military training in the world  and we would start each day at about six o'clock in the morning with a run or a swim. It was progressive training: you don't begin on day one with machine guns  they build you up and up and up. I've trained for marathons, I've trained as a rugby player, as a squash player, and for all manner of sports  but never have I been so superbly and methodically trained. It was extraordinary. I was pretty fit when I started, but at the age of 55 it took me to levels that I had never been to before  both physically and emotionally. It was almost as if I was a young man again.

If you could make one food good for you, what would it be?

Without any doubt at all, cheese and pickle sandwiches  which is my staple diet. I wish they were the key to nutritional wellbeing. I don't pay that much attention to nutrition; I know I should, but I just don't. All I wanted when I got down from Everest was bangers and mash. When I was with the Commandos I was eating about 7,000 calories a day and just burning it all off.

Would you trade your film-making abilities to be the best in the world at two sports?

I enjoy tremendously being an all-rounder. I've never been especially good at any one thing; I've always been reasonably good at a lot of things, and I like that. But I would sell my soul if I could run out, just once, in an England shirt at Twickenham. For that, I would give it all up  and more.

Who are your heroes?

The two people who I've always admired, who exhibit both strength of body and strength of mind  which, for me, is vital in any sport  are Steve Ovett and Sebastian Coe. When I was a boy they were at their best, showing the world how to run. More recently, again because of his strength of body and mind, I would say Jonny Wilkinson, who has once more come back with a vengeance to the English team to show us all how to play rugby.

What's your top training tip?

Boxing. In my view, it's supreme training. It's fantastic strength training and above all it gives you comradeship. Rather like being with the Commandos you get an incredible brotherhood, and that's a great part of sport for me: the brotherhood aspect of hardcore athletes. I box not in order to become a competitive boxer but because it conditions me for every other sport  including running. So my number one tip would be find yourself a good boxing gym  and put yourself through the mill.

Are there any foods you eat solely for their health benefits?

What are you scared of?

I was privileged enough to go to the frontline, in Afghanistan, with the Commandos, right into the heat of battle  and some of my scariest moments were when I was under fire. There, fitness comes into its own. It's survival of the fittest. You're on your feet; you've only got yourself to depend on in terms of getting yourself in and out of rough situations; and if you've got a wound or injuries you run through them, because you've got no choice. Whether the fitness I developed during Commando training saved my life or not I don't know, but I certainly wouldn't have wanted to go into battle without being as fit as the Commandos made me."

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